The therapeutic success of hemodialysis is based among other things on the use of various buffering agents so that the altered acid-base balance in patients with renal insufficiency can be corrected. Since the acid-base balance cannot be corrected during dialysis by diffusion or convection, the supply of buffering agents is indispensable. Theoretically, bicarbonate, acetate and lactate are suitable for correcting the imbalance between acids and bases, though due to various disadvantages of lactate and acetate buffering, hemodialysis treatment normally only uses bicarbonate buffering. The buffering agent is the most important component in a dialysate.
In order to diminish the weight of the dialysis machine as well as to reduce the space required for storing the bicarbonate cartridges and prevent any potential contamination of the bicarbonate, the bicarbonate or buffer solution for a medical procedure such as hemodialysis is not produced until immediately before or during treatment.
For this purpose, a container such as a cartridge or capsule containing bicarbonate concentrate powder is connected to a fluid source such as a water source. The water flowing through the cartridge dissolves the bicarbonate concentrate powder stored inside it and flushes it out into the dialysate in doses.